Category: Eco-friendly Gardening

It’s mid-May, which means it’s high time to be thinking about the vegetables you want to grow in your organic summer garden. Warm season vegetables need long days and warm temperatures to thrive, unlike spring veggies that are happy hanging out in cold soil. The organic vegetables that need longer periods of sunlight should be…

Do you struggle with growing healthy, hearty tomatoes? You’re not the first Iowan to see your tomatoes being overridden by disease and you won’t be the last. Growing healthy organic tomatoes doesn’t have to be a struggle. If you’re having trouble getting the beautiful, juicy tomatoes you want from your organic garden, follow these tips…

Most of the vegetables in your garden like to be planted once the ground has warmed up, but there are those select veggies that can be planted in the early spring. Long before the summer vegetables start to pop up, you can work with a variety of vegetables including radishes, lettuce, onions, peas, and more….

The most effective way to build fertile soil and create a more productive organic garden is to use compost. Some gardeners are intimidated by the idea of creating compost, especially if they’re aiming to stay organic. Composting seems complicated but it’s actually easy. When you break it down, composting is the act of guiding organic wastes…

With so many fertilizers on the market today, finding the best one can be difficult. The preference between organic and synthetic fertilizer changes depending on who you ask. Choosing synthetic over organic fertilizer may not seem like a big deal because your plants can’t really tell the difference, but the truth is there is a…

As an organic gardener, no doubt you’re passionate about taking care of your garden and protecting the environment. If you’re in a colder state, you’re probably itching to get in your garden and get the ball rolling on your first harvest. Since mother nature has decided to keep things cool, especially here in Iowa, there…

Any time we use a renewable resource, we’re helping the environment. Biomass is a sustainable and renewable resource that can we can use to improve our carbon footprint. What exactly is Biomass? “Biomass is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms. In the context of biomass for energy, this is often used to…

Taking care of your plants throughout the gardening season is all about knowing the varieties you’re working with. Experienced organic gardeners know many plants like the back of their hands but if you’re a newbie, or you’re working with a specific variety for the first time, it’s important to keep track of what that plant…

In recent years, homeowners across the United States have been taking steps to follow organic lawn care practice. But “organic lawn care” means different things to different people, which complicates things. Some people see organic lawn care as simply using natural and organic materials while completely avoiding chemicals and synthetic products. For others, it is…

Spring can be a chaotic time for organic gardeners, but planting in the spring always pays off in the long run. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as picking a fresh vegetable from your own garden after the long, cold winter months. Springtime in Iowa can be tricky for growing, however, since the weather often changes…

If you didn’t get your vegetable bulbs planted in the fall, don’t panic. There’s no time like the present to get things going for your organic garden. If the ground in your garden has thawed, or if you’re using planters, spring is the perfect time to sow the plants we’re discussing today because they will…

The State of Iowa spans parts of gardening Zones 4 (northeast Iowa) through 7 (southwest Iowa), which means the planting dates vary slightly throughout the state. Most of the regions in Iowa have a medium growing length, which gives you a good amount of time to start your vegetables and reap a bountiful harvest. With…